Feature

A look at how photographers are using Instagram to convey the day-to-day realities of living in conflict—with a selection of accounts to follow if you want to stay up to date.​ [Content warning: some violent images of war]

By Coralie Kraft

A look at how photographers are using Instagram to convey the day-to-day realities of living in conflict—with a selection of accounts to follow if you want to stay up to date.​ [Content warning: some violent images of war]

If you’re paying attention to the news this week, you know that the hard-fought battle for Mosul has finally reached its end. Both Iraqi authorities and US-led coalitions have gone on the record to state that after more than two years of occupation, fighters have largely wrested the city from Daesh’s control.

Following the destruction of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri on June 21st, 2017, Iraqi forces pushed forward and finally captured the site on June 29th. The Mosque is a significant site for both sides of this conflict because the leader of Daesh, the notoriously reclusive Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, made his only public appearance there in 2014. Speaking from the balcony three days after the jihadist group announced their new caliphate, al-Baghdadi announced himself as leader and spoke about his vision for a new Islamic world. The recapturing of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri signaled the final push towards recovering the city in full.

During these past few weeks, we have noticed a glut of images and media produced by photojournalists working in Mosul and the surrounding area. Even as photographers are disseminated their work through traditional means like shooting for major news outlets (BBC, Reuters, the New York Times, Al Jazeera, and beyond), they were simultaneously using their personal social media accounts to provide frequent (even hour-by-hour) updates on the battle—as well as shots that portray the heartbreaking realities of living in a city besieged.

Their coverage won’t end as the battle comes to a close. “I’m looking ahead to the next phase of post-conflict reintegration and rehabilitation” says photographer Alexandra Howland. “The complexities of what is to come are infinite, and I’m taking the time to try to understand the situation as well as I can; this will help me figure out the most effective way to document it. Despite the supposed liberation of Mosul, the challenges facing Iraq and Kurdistan are unending.”

Below, we have singled out five photographers whose Instagram accounts are worth following if you’re interested in keeping an eye on Mosul. All of them post photographs, but many of them also include videos, slideshows, or Instagram Stories—all of which provide a multifaceted, immediate perspective on this conflict.

—Coralie Kraft

Cover image by Laurence Geai. “On June 4, 2017, the 9th and 16th divisions of the Iraqi army launched an offensive in the Al Zinjili district west of Mosul. Clusters of civilians arrived. The Iraqi army welcomed them, gave them water, and healed the wounded. Many of them had been hit by shrapnel. Here, a man is cared for by several medics from the Iraqi army. He seems in shock and is in tears.”

Cengiz Yar is a photographer based in northern Iraq who has been following the battle in Mosul for months. He frequently shoots for The Guardian and Foreign Policy; many of his images feature refugees fleeing fighting and, as a result, their homes. Yar also utilizes Instagram Stories, a feature in the app which allows photographers to share minute-by-minute ephemeral photos and videos.

Working for Associated Press, Brazilian photographer Felipe Dana has been covering the treatment and plight of Mosul’s residents for months. In addition to highly personal portraits of Mosul’s citizens, he also posts short videos that offer a resonant and striking perspective of the city’s destruction.

Alexandra Howland’s work covers the movement of Iraqi forces (including the Iraqi Federal Police) and the very personal toll of war on Mosul’s civilians. The British-American photographer also utilizes Stories to follow the conflict closely.

French photographer Laurence Geai works on humanitarian causes in her native France and around the world. Her recent shots of Mosul follow members of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces around the city in their attempt to dislodge Daesh from major points in the city. Her videos are strikingly immersive—as an audience, we feel that we are crouched next to her on the street.

Iranian documentary photographer Hossein Velayati has covered Iraq and Iran for the past seven years. His Instagram feed features shots of everyday life in Mosul—a woman carrying her laundry, residents playing pool—with devastating images of the catastrophic human and structural destruction in the city.